Fodhla Cronin O'Reilly is the producer of the first iFeatures Period Drama, Lady Macbeth. In an interview on our Market Trader programme, the producer details, how she got into the film industry, the development of Lady Macbeth on our iFeatures programme, and the challenges of working on a low budget.

Initially, Fodhla started out shadowing in an SFX company; working on titles such as The Wind That Shakes the Barley and The Tudors which inspired her to take up a degree in Film. Following this, she found a passion for producing roles with projects such as corporate and viral video, however, the urge to develop scripts and stories lead her to develop this further in a two-year producing master at the NFTS.

Fodhla Cronin O'Reilly met Lady Macbeth Director, William Oldroyd, through a mutual friend and after a 3-hour long coffee meeting, the two instantly formed a connection.

“We knew that what we were attempting was incredibly ambitious,” “and we were determined to use the limitations that the budget put on us as a virtue. From the first minute we had to be sure that we could achieve both the artistic vision and the production itself for the money we had. It meant we had to make creative choices about how we would shoot the film – from costume and production design to which rooms we could use in the location.”

Fodhla was awarded the Cartoon d’Or for her animated film Head Over Heels (2013), which was also nominated for an Oscar of the same year.

Lady Macbeth was funded through Creative England’s iFeatures programme, and is released in UK cinemas on the 28th April, find a local screening here .